We moved into our home about a year ago and have been working ever since to get it set up comfortably so it could really feel like "home". For me, one of the biggest things that helps to create that feeling is paint. It always amazes me what a bucket of paint and the Paintstick (Best invention ever. Thank you, Daryl!) can do.

But after painting three rooms and one bathroom pretty much on my own, I was done. Besides, the rooms that are on the priority list consist of the kitchen (don't want to deal with taping off trim work on cabinets and moving out the refrigerator), master bedrooom (too many weird angles and don't want to deal with moving the bed, dresser, armoire), master bath (see previous mention of hating to tape trimwork), basement (too large of a job for me to wrap my brain around), and two story foyer (me + scaffolding = bad accidents).

So, we made the decision to hire a painter to do the job and were lucky enough to have our neighbors recommend someone who did a great job in their house. He comes on Friday and then the work will take anywhere from four to five days (here's hoping).

I'm working from home on Friday and Monday and for the moment, the plan is to lock myself, my laptop, the kitties and their litter box in a bedroom that is not being painted in order to stay out of the painter's way (and keep kitty tails and paws out of paint!).

We like to use a lot of color in our decorating. I feel like color is such a fantastic thing and something you really shouldn't be afraid of if you're considering redecorating a room. So far, we've used a dark chocolate brown in our piano room, a chocolate milk-type color in the dining room, and a rich, fall maple tree yellow in the great room. Our house has an open design, so we needed to make sure that the colors for the foyer and the kitchen coordinated with the other rooms.

Here are the colors that we've decided to go with:

Kitchen:

Foyer:

Basement:

Master Bedroom (we had this exact color in our bedroom in our TH and LOVED it!):

Master Bath:

Hopefully everything will go smoothly this weekend and it will all come out as we hope. I'll take pictures after it's all finished and post them here.

We're having friends over for an autumnal dinner this Saturday night and I can hardly contain my excitement about cooking for them. Over the summer, we tend to rely on the grill for entertaining; and although we like to experiment with new grill recipes, it's just not the same as cooking something from stove to oven.

I'm still working out an appetizer for cocktails before dinner, but here are my plans for the meal:

I'm debating making a potato dish as well; because what's better than warm, comforting potatoes in the fall? However, I'm thinking this is going to be a lot of food already. So...I may just skip to the dessert, for which there are currently two considerations:

I've made both desserts before and they have both turned out fantastically in the past. So, I'm somewhat torn on what to do. I may end up going with the Pear and Brioche Tart, just to finish off the meal a little lighter, rather than indulging in an extremely heavy cheesecake where the leftovers would most definitely go to waste.

Haven't blogged in awhile, have been busy with a few things that have come my way lately. Looking forward to this weekend, my parents are visiting us from good old Cabot, PA (outside of Pittsburgh for those of you not familiar). Planning on having a great weekend with them. Hoping to cook some dinner on Friday night, then head to the pumpkin patch on Saturday to get the house ready for fall.

The month of September brings the promise of crisp air, warm autumn leaves and everything I love that makes up the season of fall. In this world there are places you can live where it's always like summer or always like winter, but there's no place that you can go to always have the feeling that fall brings.

Fall invites a feeling of stepping back, breathing deeply and settling in. Comforting foods and comforting sites make it a season for the senses.

Around this time of year, I can't wait for the last warm days to end and love the first morning where I can just see my breath.

"None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what
unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months or a few
years to change all the tenor of our lives." - Kathleen Norris, Hands Full of Living

On Friday night, he handed me a piece of paper printed out from
weather.com or accuweather.com with Friday, Saturday and Sunday listed and the
corresponding weather, and told me to pack accordingly. He had to help me pack
some, because I was totally at a loss for what to pack. Then we got in the car,
and he said that our car trip would take less time than it takes to drive to my
parent's house and that I might begin to get an idea of where we were going when
he got on the toll road. So, we went the back way up 606, because that's the
only logical way to get on the toll road! At one point I asked "Are we going to
the airport"? And he just laughed and said no, we're going to the toll road -
what other way did he think we would take to get on the toll road? Good point!
When we got close to the back entrance for the airport, he said "What the hell -
let's fly" and pulled in. Of course I was freaking out, because I just threw
stuff into bags without thinking of the whole liquids/flight restriction stuff.
Of course, my husband thought ahead and had moved everything around before we left, so
we were totally fine.

He gave me another "clue" and said that we were going to be on a 3 hour
plane flight. So, I guessed Chicago, Montreal and Bermuda. I have no idea if
Montreal and Bermuda actually are three hour flights, but they sounded like
reasonable guesses, especially since Bermuda is where we went for our honeymoon
and we've been talking about Montreal lately. So, we stood in line at the
ticket counter and he still hadn't told me...finally he gave me the itinerary
and I saw that we were going to Boston!! I was totally blown away - I really
had no idea.

We were supposed to go out to my grandmothers on Saturday afternoon and
pick up tickets for a Red Sox game from her, but late in the day on Friday, they
moved it to a 1:00 start (instead of 7:00) to hopefully get the game in before
the rain because of Ernesto . I guess my Dad called my husband on Friday night before
we left and let him know. Instead, we woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday
morning and drove out to her house so we could see her AND get the tickets for
the game in time. We only stayed for about an hour and a half and then went
back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes and my jersey and stuff (which he packed without me knowing!) Then we walked over to Fenway and just hung
around on Yawkey Way which was sooooo fantastic. Our seats were fabulous and
the whole thing was just so great (except for the fact that they lost). It
really is one of the best places in the world.

After that, we walked back to the hotel and took a nice long nap and then
went out to go grab some food. We didn't have reservations anywhere since we were supposed to be at the game in the evening. So we tried to go to
this one seafood place, but they were packed, so we walked some more to find that everywhere was booked (what can you expect on a Saturday night?). Finally we
settled on a little Irish pub where we had some good beer, mussels, fish and
chips and my husband had salad (weird!). We walked back to the hotel after that,
cracked open a bottle of wine and ordered The DaVinci Code on OnDemand. I was
struggling to stay awake, and ended up falling asleep about halfway - 3/4 way
through. But, it was relaxing and a great way to end a perfect day!

The next morning we woke up to rain in Boston (it managed to hold off there
until we were asleep on Saturday night) and walked to a fantastic little diner,
where we had a yummy breakfast, and then slowly made our way to the airport.
Our flight left about an hour late because other planes were delayed due to the
weather, but it wasn't too bad at all. We were back home at around 5, and since Monday was Labor Day we had the evening and the whole next day to relax.

Overall the weekend was fantastic and I can't wait to upload my pictures!
I love Boston soooo much. The whole time I was asking my husband when we are going
to move there :) Don't think that's happening in the near future at all
though...but I can always dream.

I haven't been writing much (or at all, maybe?) this summer because the husband and I have been doing quite a bit of traveling. It's been fun and we've been to some fantastic places, but there is much to be said about getting back home and relaxing in your own environment. I may have been on trips where I could relax looking at beautiful scenery or beautiful hotels, but there's something innately peaceful and restful about relaxing in your own home.

I'm headed up to New York tomorrow for work. New York is a place that I have very strong feelings about. I know, I know, ask anyone you know and they probably have very strong feelings about it. It's one of those places that people either love or hate. I happen to be on the love side. Not just the love side, but the step into the city and feel my soul fill with excitement and contentment side.

It's not the cheap thrills of New York that excite me; the skyscrapers and the glitz. What draws me in is the energy of the city; how it changes throughout the day, but somehow seems the same. The people; again, not the models or celebrities, but the people who have lived there forever and know nothing else. The ability to find a little of anything anywhere within the city. The idea of opportunity and the unknown and that everyday presents something surprising and interesting if you just take a minute to look for it.

I lived about 20 minutes outside of New York my freshman year of college. Living there and that time of my life are some of the happiest moments I've had. But, I think that my love affair with the city started long before that. I visited New York with my family growing up and there was an immediate connection. Something about my experienced whispered "Welcome Home". I know this probably seems a little silly and oh so cliche, but I really can't help it.

So how do I deal with the fact that I live in an area that is anything but all of the things that I love about New York and that there appears to be no remote chance of moving there in the foreseeable future? To tell you the truth, I had a really hard time dealing with it for awhile. Why should you abandon the idea of embracing all the things you love for what is convenient right now? Great question, and something that I have beat myself up over.

My solution? I choose not to think about it that way that anymore and instead choose to think of the things I actually do love in my life no matter where I live; a wonderful husband, great family, and the ability to choose your happiness in every moment.

Do I still love New York? Of course, and I get a thrill every time I'm there. But the better thrill is to have a home away from home, but love the home you go back to.

Having my own blog is something I've thought about for awhile, but haven't been able to get up the nerve to do it until now. Even as I sit here typing these words, I question whether or not they're "good enough" or if I'll go back and change all of this. There's something about putting your thoughts out there that is a bit intimidating. But I have to tell myself that I already share my thoughts with people everyday, it just happens that this most often occurs through verbal conversations. What's so different about putting them in a blog?

Why am I doing this? I'm doing this because writing is important to me, and this is a way to help me do that every day.

What will I talk about? I'm not quite sure yet. Right now, I hope that this will be a way for me to open a new door to keeping in touch with family and friends. How is that the conveniences of email, phone calls and IMs have become oh so difficult?

Other than that, I hope this will be a creative outlet for myself as I continue to explore the things that interest me; writing, reading, cooking, entertaining and photography.